Here is a perfect example of an extremely catchy magazine lede: “Selena is sitting in a booth at Hooters, reminiscing.” Meaning Selena Gomez and OMG! Anyway, that’s the way Selena’s Harper’s Bazaar cover profile begins, because why not? The Bazaar photoshoot is by Terry Richardson, which is gross because you know Uncle Terry loves how young Selena looks. But even then… once I get past the grossness, this is a decent photoshoot. I know, I hate myself for admitting that. I guess Selena got the cover because she’s promoting her role in Spring Breakers, but I prefer to think of Selena’s recent omnipresence in the media as her revenge against Justin Bieber. People are beginning to realize how awesome she is and more and more people are #TeamSelena. You can read the full Harper’s Bazaar piece here, and here are some highlights.

Her history with Hooters: “My mom and dad had me when they were young… And when I was seven, my dad would go to Hooters to watch Spurs games. But he started noticing that when I would come, with my little pigtails, all the waitresses would be like, ‘Hey!’ So he ended up half spending time with me but with all those cute girls coming over/ And that kind of became our thing.”

Her fanbase of tweens: “I love letting them know how bizarre this world is,” she says, waving her arms around (and presumably referring to Hollywood, not Hooters), “and that our lives are not better than theirs just because we get to be in magazines.”

Her baby face: “I’m getting older, though I don’t look it at all—I hate it now, but I’ll love it later,” she admits, chuckling.

Her off-again thing with Justin Bieber: “It was, but that’s not a factor for me because unfortunately you can’t control that… To me, love is normal. Of course, you see Jay and Beyoncé and you’re like, ‘Oh, my gosh, they’re perfect for each other,’ but at the end of the day their love is just like everybody else’s love. They have problems, I’m sure, and they solve them, like anybody else. So to make it as normal as possible—in such an abnormal lifestyle—was super important to both of us. Which was great … ” she trails off. “That’s how it should be.”

The single life: “I don’t get asked out a lot. Well, firstly, I look like this all the time,” she says, showcasing her flannel shirt and chunky knit scarf, which a blob of ketchup has landed on, “and when I actually look presentable, I’m at an awards show. It’s not like I’ve wanted to go out and look for someone. I’m not really good at that.”

She’s a romantic: “I believe in love—yes, I’m one of those girls. Most of my friends believe in love. I went out with Katy Perry last night. She’s so fun and awesome, but it’s cool to see someone older believe in love too. She is all about it, and that’s how I will always be. I believe in stories like, ‘Oh, I met him in Starbucks.'”

Dating someone outside of the industry: “I’ve dated people that are not in the industry, and it does get really hard and stressful. My first boyfriend wasn’t, and it all sort of started happening, so—” she says with a sigh. “I felt bad.”

She protects herself: “It’s hard for me to tell myself to trust people and be open, because I don’t,” she explains. “That’s one of the negative things about this industry, that makes you very scared of everybody and their motives. It’s sad, but that’s how you have to protect yourself.”

She has lots of friends: She values her girlfriends like Taylor Swift, Emma Stone, and old friends from Texas. “It’s good to have both. It’s great to just pick up a phone and call Taylor and say, ‘I have people following me, and I’m having a bad day,’ but if I were to say that to someone else, it’s like, ‘Oh, boo hoo.’ But it’s nice to have people back home that grew up with me too.”

Becoming a Fashion Girl: “If I’m going to the MTV Movie Awards, I’m going to dress a certain way, but if I’m going to the MTV Music Awards, it can be a little more out there. I mean, I’m probably the only one that notices, but,” she says faux dramatically, “there’s two distinct Selenas.” Day to day, though, “I do not give a damn what I look like, I don’t,” she says. “I wish I could pay attention because Gwen Stefani, say, looks flawless.” Gomez is also a fan of Rachel Bilson (“the one person I totally love casually”), Gwyneth Paltrow, and Charlize Theron.” She laughs. “Of course, when I’m on red carpets, I’m nervous, sweaty, and weird.”

She doesn’t understand why she gets attention: “I really don’t understand that at all,” Gomez says of the attention. “That said, I won’t lie to you and say I don’t like to see what people are wearing, like, what are the Olsens wearing? At the same time, I feel bad.”

[From Harper’s Bazaar]

Yeah. She’s not incredibly interesting. But I think that’s a strength too – she’s not a whiner. She’s not prone to the “woe is me” thing. I feel like Selena KNOWS her life is mostly great, and that the tradeoff is dealing with the tabloids and stuff, and she’s fine with that. Maybe someday she can sit down with her BFF Taylor Swift and tell Swifty some hard truths about how to do an interview without sounding like a whiny, humorless curmudgeon.

Photos courtesy of Terry Richardson/Harper’s Bazaar.